The Ties That Bind
by The Lilac Elf of Lothlorien
Summary: Deaf!limp!Sam/limp!Dean AU!-When Sam starts losing his hearing at age 9, John decides to let the boys stay with Bobby who helps get Sam and Dean enrolled in a local school for the deaf and hard of hearing. While at school, the boys are unknowingly protected by an angel of the lord who wants to change history in a big way. Sam/OFC and Dean/Jess
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTES: So I've had this plot bunny for a while and once again, I figured I'd just go with it.

Now just so everyone knows, if there are any of my stories you'd like to take over, let me know. There are some I want to keep for myself so just ask if a particular story is up for grabs.

STORY SUMMARY: When Sam starts losing his hearing, John decides to let the boys stay with Bobby who helps get Sam and Dean enrolled in a local school for the deaf and hard of hearing. While at school, the boys are unknowingly protected by an angel of the lord who wants to change history in a big way.

A/N2: Now I don't have much experience with hearing loss so my facts and details pretty much come from reasearch on Google. As far as later on in the story, when Sam or other characters are using sign language that dialouge will be in **bold**. Also, since I know ASL often truncates sentences, when I'm writing sign language it will be whatever the characters are saying rather than what they're signing if that makes sense.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

* * *

SUPERNATURAL: The Ties That Bind

* * *

"Mr. Winchester, your son, Sam, has a moderate hearing loss in both ears."

The doctor's words slammed John Winchester like a brick. "Hearing loss…" he repeated, letting the words sink in. No, this had to be a mistake.

The past few months, John had been noticing that Sam was ignoring him and his older brother, Dean. When the two tried to get Sam's attention, the kid often didn't respond until they were practically shouting.

And then Sam's teachers called John asking for a meeting to talk about Sam's inattentiveness and lack of focus in class.

Once Dean had reported this after talking to Sam's 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Brediger, John had wasted no time in making an appointment for the requested meeting. Sam was always an excellent student and had started reading nearly a year sooner that Dean had.

After Mrs. Brediger and the school principal had suggested that Sam be evaluated for attention deficit disorder or some other learning disorder, John had taken his youngest son to the local doctor's office for the recommended tests.

Two hours later, John was taking Sam to the 3rd floor of the building for a hearing test.

Now the audiologist was telling him that Sam was losing his hearing.

"I know this is rough news to take," Dr. Cassandra Nolan said, with a sympathetic look. She looked outside the office where Sam was sitting looking at the book he'd brought with him. Turning back to John, she went on. "It's hard to tell right now—without further evaluation—if Sam's hearing loss will be progressive. What I can tell you is that your son is currently classified as 'hard of hearing'. However, if his hearing deteriorates further, he'll be under the category of 'severely deaf'."

Rubbing his face with one hand, John leaned back in his chair as he thought. "What now? I mean… is there anything we can do?"

Dr. Nolan shook her head, sadly. "I'll need you to bring Sam back next week so we can have him evaluated for hearing aids." Leaning forward, she added, "Sam is going to need help in dealing with this. Any disability is hard for a child but hearing loss tends to make them feel more isolated. You and your son, Dean, need to make sure Sam understands that this isn't a punishment."

John nodded and after a moment he asked, "So with the hearing aids… Sam will be okay? He'll be… normal?"

"Sam's always going to be hard of hearing," Nolan clarified. "He'll have a better range of sounds with the hearing aids, but they're not a permanent fix. And if the deafness gets worse, they may no longer be effective. Which is why Sam will need to learn sign language and non verbal cues."

x

Sam made a show of reading his book, but really he was watching his dad and the doctor talk. Even though he was only 8, he'd always watched people, especially his brother and father—expressions, body language…

And it didn't take long to figure out that everything going on the past few days was because he was having trouble hearing people talk lately.

At first, Sam had figured his ears were just stuffed up from allergies or something. But the stuffiness wouldn't go away and during the hearing test earlier, Sam felt his stomach go squicky when he realized that he couldn't really hear the doctor talking to him.

Feeling someone touch his shoulder, Sam jumped in surprise. Seeing that it was just his dad, he relaxed a bit but he saw that his father's expression was moody. "Dad?"

John said nothing as he looked at his son, but after a while, he knelt down so he and Sam were more level. He felt nervous but after another moment or two, he spoke carefully, making sure Sam could read his lip movements as he tried to make sure his hand signs were exactly as Dr. Nolan had showed him. "You and I are going to go home, Sammy, and we're going to talk about it with Dean. Okay?"

Sam nodded slowly in understanding. He was already pretty good at reading lips—Dean had taught him early on as part of learning to talk—and he could follow his Dad's hand signals well enough. But as the two headed back to the house they were staying in, Sam felt his stomach start knotting up again in anticipation of the discussion to come.

xxxx

The strange thing was that Sam had seemed to accept his situation rather calmly.

After John had laid out the whole thing, explaining as much as possible, Sam had just nodded in understanding before asking if it was okay if he finished his homework and then went to bed.

Once Sam had gone upstairs and John had heard the kid close the door to his room, he looked over at Dean who seemed somewhat shell-shocked by the news that his little brother was going deaf. "How's it going, Ace?" John asked as he started making boxed macaroni and cheese.

"Dad, what are we going to do?" Dean asked, worried. He'd always been afraid for his brother since finding out that the monsters in the closet were real but this was even worse. "Sam's gonna need help and it'll be hard on him if we keep moving around."

That was one thing that John hated thinking about. He had to find the thing that killed Mary but to continue being a hunter meant a lot of moving around and not staying in one spot for more than a month or so. But Dean had a very good point. Sam needed stability right now and moving around wasn't going to give them that. Besides, what if Sam's next school didn't have people who were able to deal with his hearing issues?

Dean finished up making dinner before taking a bowl upstairs, calling over his shoulder to his dad that there was some left in the pot.

Once more, John felt the stab of pain in his heart as he watched Dean disappear into the room he shared with his brother. He didn't deserve these kids. Dean was only 12 but he often acted at least 10 years older.

And Sam… the kid had already been skipped one grade and before this whole situation had started, Sam's teachers had been talking about putting him in the 6th grade.

Hearing the phone ring, John pulled himself from his thoughts as he picked it up and barked, "Yeah?"

"John? You okay?" Bobby Singer's gruff voice asked.

John sigh was one of relief and after a moment, he found himself telling the other hunter everything.

Bobby had been the one to teach John about monsters and hunting and he was practically a second father to Sam and Dean who still called him Uncle Bobby.

"Listen," Bobby said after John had gone through the whole situation. "Bring the boys up here. Y'all can stay long as you need to and the boys can get settled in school."

John quickly agreed, promising be there within the week. After hanging up, he headed upstairs, finding Sam and Dean both finishing their homework. "Just got a call from Bobby," he said as he entered the room.

Sam looked up when Dean nudged him in the arm. Looking at his father, he asked, "What'd you say, Dad?"

But Dean was already writing something down and pushing it at Sam. "How soon are we leaving?" he wanted to know.

John thought for a moment. Tomorrow was Friday and with the weekend it would be the perfect time to pack up. Besides, Bobby's house was only 8 hours away. "Day after tomorrow. We'll get up there, you guys can get settled and start school on Monday."

Both boys acknowledged the news and once their father had left, they finished their school work quickly before getting ready for bed.

* * *

School the following day was a nightmare for Sam.

After his dad met with the principal to tell him that Sam would be moving to South Dakota, one of the students in the office overheard that Sam was hard of hearing and by the end of 2nd period, most of the students knew about it and had begun relentlessly teasing him.

By lunch, Sam just wanted to leave school then and there. He hated not being able to hear everything. It was like trying to hear underwater and it was so distracting. One of the school counselors had pulled him aside before lunch, saying he hoped Sam did well at his new school…at least that was what Sam could tell from lip-reading.

When one of the kids in his class tripped him, making him fall on the ground, Sam gave in and started crying. Why couldn't he be normal? Why'd he have to be a freak? Why couldn't he-?

"You leave him alone!"

The girl's voice was loud and angry and as Sam slowly got up, he saw Maxine Davison punching the boy who'd tripped him. She waited until the boy had left before looking at Sam. "Thanks," Sam said with a nod.

Max grinned at him before replying. "You're welcome." She signed as she spoke and after a moment, she took Sam's hand and led him down the hallway and outside near the woods that surrounded the school grounds.

Once they were sitting on the grass, Sam asked, "Why'd you stop Greg?"

Max shrugged and—without saying a word—took Sam's hands in hers. "Copy me," she said before raising her hands and finger-spelling S-A-M.

Sam did so and when Max pointed to him, he said, "That's how I spell my name?"

Max nodded and spelled her own name. After going through a few more basic words, she said, "I heard you're leaving after today." She used basic signs as she spoke, surprised when Sam seemed to understand perfectly.

Sam nodded. "My dad's taking me and my brother to our Uncle Bobby's. He lives up in South Dakota." He looked at Max and he suddenly deeply wished that he wasn't leaving so soon. Changing the subject, he asked, "How do you know how to sign?"

Max shrugged. "My mother used to go… hunting. She'd gone since she was little. But it ruined her hearing."

They stayed outside until the bell rang signaling the end of the school day.

Max spent the time teaching Sam sign language, and by the time school was over, Sam was doing fairly well.

The two stood and Max reached into her backpack and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. She wrote down her phone number and handed it to Sam. Signing as she spoke, she said, "I will always be your friend, Sam. Even if you're in South Dakota."

Sam hugged her and quickly signed 'thank you' before hurrying off to meet his dad.

* * *

_Underwood Academy for the Hearing Impaired_

Monday morning, Sam stood in front of a boarding school for deaf and hard of hearing kids.

Beside him, Dean looked nervously around, his 'big brother radar' always on alert for any threats.

And behind both boys, John had to admit he was scared. True, the school was highly recommended and had a top-notch curriculum, but what was really scaring him was that Sam would be on his own here. Dean would be in a regular school and very far away from his brother.

"Mr. Winchester?" The school headmaster said as he came out of the school. He was nearly 6 foot and seemed very athletic with short blondish hair and a smile. He spoke with an English accent as he said, "And this must be Sam and Dean." Signing as he looked at Sam, he said, "I'm Headmaster Jared Collins. Welcome to Underwood Academy." Looking at the Winchesters, he added, "Please… Let's go to my office."

Inside, the headmaster led them into a very comfortable office that was almost large enough to be a small apartment.

"Nice office," Dean observed, looking around impressed.

"Well, I sometimes end up staying nights so we took out one of the storage rooms," Collins replied, looking around as he sat behind his desk. Once the others were sitting, he retrieved Sam's file from the stack on his desk and opened it, reading the reports from Sam's audiologist visit back in Montana. "Now, as I understand it," he said, looking up. "Sam has not yet received hearing aids?"

John nodded in confirmation. Bobby had put him in touch with a local audiologist who would set Sam up with the hearing aids in exchange for the two hunters taking care of a poltergeist problem at his office. "Uh, next week he should be getting them," John confirmed. "Although Sam has been learning a little sign language."

"If it's possible for students to use hearing aids," Collins replied. "We do encourage it." Looking at Dean who kept glancing at his dad and then his brother, he added, "Now, I spoke with the school board and since we had higher than usual donations last term we would be able to offer both boys scholarships."

"Dean can hear just fine," John said, even though he knew that Dean had wanted him to ask the question.

But the headmaster waved that off. "Several of our students are only mildly hard of hearing. While we do mostly cater to the deaf community, we are not entirely exclusive. Hearing students—although extremely rare—are welcomed as well. And unlike many boarding schools, we also do not require student uniforms."

Sam seemed to relax at the notion that Dean would be with him and as they followed Headmaster Collins as he gave them a tour of the campus, even Dean didn't seem as on edge about the whole thing.

* * *

Two days later—after Sam and Dean's official enrollment at Underwood—Dean sat with his brother while the doctor made the final adjustment to Sam's hearing aids.

The audiologist had asked the same questions everyone else had asked about Sam's hearing loss—any serious illnesses, injuries, listening to loud music or noises? If Dean had had to guess, he blamed his dad playing music too loud in the car and the target practice every weekend.

But then why wasn't Dean the one going deaf? He'd been shooting guns longer than Sammy so why was it his little brother and not him?

"You okay, Sammy?" Dean asked after a while. And suddenly, the twisting in his stomach eased up when Sam grinned and nodded.

"Yeah," Sam said, nodding. "Yeah, I can hear you a lot better." He winced slightly as he caught a split second of feedback from the hearing aids, but it went away just as quickly. Once Dean finished up with the paperwork the nurse at the front desk had given him, he put his arm around Sammy and they headed out of the office and to the Impala to wait for their dad.

As they crossed the parking, an old, beat-up station wagon came tearing around a corner and before either brother could move, both collided with the car and were send flying—Dean being tossed across the front of the car, smashing up the windshield before rolling off the other side of the hood. Sam had been thrown to the side, tumbling as he landed on the asphalt.

x

After finding the poltergeist and killing it, John raced up the stairs and to the doctor's office where Sam and Dean were.

The spirit had been hard to kill and just as John had been ready to torch the remains hidden in the storage closet when the thing appeared with a wicked grin on it's face. "Kill me," the malevolent spirit rasped. "—and you will pay with your children's lives."

Those words echoed in John's head as he opened the door to the office where he'd left his boys but they were gone. Realizing that Sam and Dean must have already left, he hurried outside, stopping dead when he saw his boys lying on the ground, motionless and bloody.

* * *

A/N3: Next chapter jumps a couple years ahead when Sam makes a couple friends of the female variety and Dean is having problem as a result of the hit and run.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_5 Years Later_

Maxine Davison smiled to herself as she saw Sam Winchester sitting in the quad 'talking' with a girl with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. She hadn't told Sam she was transferring so she knew her old friend would be surprised to see her.

Walking up behind Sam, Max tapped him on the shoulder and when he turned to look at her, he beamed. **'Max! What are you doing here?'**

'**Mom and Dad are teaching here now,'** Max replied as she sat down. **'Mom enrolled me just last week.'** Looking around, she asked, **'Where's your brother?' **When Sam looked down at his shoes, Max knew that something was wrong. And after a moment, she noticed the forearm crutches next to Sam. **'Sam, what happened?'**

'**It was a hit and run about 5 years ago,'** Jessica Moore replied, putting a hand on Sam's knee before she signed her response. **'Someone idiot hit Sam and Dean. Sam's right leg got messed up pretty bad and…'**

Max didn't like the way Sam looked away as Jess answered for him. Something really bad had happened to Dean—that much was clear. But how bad? "Sam…" she said aloud, putting a hand on her friend's arm and waiting until he looked at her. "Was Dean…?" She couldn't think the word 'dead'.

Sam shook his head, signing as he spoke. "I landed on my right leg—knee was a mess and I shattered my ankle. Compound leg fracture, too. Dean… had a spinal fracture."

Glancing over at the far end of the quad, where Sam was now looking, Max felt her stomach twist as she saw Dean signing and laughing with a small group of students. And while Dean seemed happy, Max's eye was drawn to the wheelchair he was sitting in. Looking at Sam, she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Sam waved her off. "It's fine," he muttered. Seeing the lights flash on the outer walls signaling that break was over, Sam slowly stood, sliding both arms through the rings of the crutches after grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

Watching Sam limp off, Max let out a deep sigh. This hadn't been the reunion she'd imagined. Looking at Jess who gave her a warm smile in return, Max said, "I'm Max. Sam and I knew each other in elementary school."

'**Jessica Moore,'** Jess replied. **'But everyone calls me Jess. Sam and I have been friends for 3 years now.'**

"So tell me about the Winchesters," Max said, signing as she spoke.

The two girls headed towards their math class while Jess filled in the blanks in Sam's story. **'Sam had his leg in a cast for almost 4 months. And that was after having practically his whole leg in this… cage contraption for 6 weeks. It took 7 surgeries over 3 years to get everything fixed and almost a year for Sam to be able to actually use his leg. He said that the doctors don't think he'll ever be able to walk without the brace and crutches.'**

Max felt her heart ache for Sam as she took that in. When she'd known him before, he was a bit of a goof but he was awesome when they played soccer in gym class. Thinking of Sam's current disability, she wished there was something she could do to help.

xxxx

When classes were over for the day, Dean headed up to the dorm room he shared with Sam to drop off his backpack before heading down to the student lounge to meet Sam and Jess.

It was weird to think that Sam was best friends with girl. Not that Sam wasn't cute or anything like that, but Dean had always seen himself as the family ladies' man.

But as he looked at himself in the full length mirror on the inside of the door to his closet, Dean let out a dejected sigh. No wonder girls liked Sammy better—his legs at least worked, even if one of them…not so much.

Waking up in the hospital after the accident, Dean couldn't remember when he'd been in more pain. Everything seemed to hurt except for his legs which felt oddly numb.

Next to the hospital bed, Dean had seen his dad crying which was alarming since John Winchester never cried.

Then Dean had found out why when the doctor told him that he was paralyzed from the waist down. Afterwards, John had told Dean that Sam's leg was in really bad shape and depending on how the kid healed and the long-term nerve and muscle damage, there was a very high chance that the youngest Winchester would end up with a permanent limp… or worse.

The 'or worse' had been the prospect of amputation which had been recommended by the doctors. And as harsh a choice as it was, after talking with the doctors and surgeons, John had been about to consent when Sam raised an unbelievable fuss.

Of course, the hospital staff had told John that since Sam was only 8 years old he had no real say in the issue. But Sam hadn't had any say when he was being dragged all over the country so John could hunt down the thing that had murdered Mary either.

And so Dean and his father had had to watch Sam struggle to deal with constant pain and physical therapy and even now his leg was barely functional.

Not that the past 5 years had been easy for Dean, either.

After the fractures had healed as much as they would, the next year and a half of Dean's life was spent in physical therapy which—thanks to anonymous donations of money and equipment—he'd been able to do at Underwood Academy after getting out of the hospital along with Sam.

Hearing a knocking at the door, Dean looked up to see Seth Brady standing in the doorway. **'Sorry… Just thinking,'** Dean signed. Wheeling out the door and closing it behind him, Dean followed his friend down the hall towards the cafeteria.

"What were you thinking about?" Seth asked, curiously. Since he'd been in speech therapy since losing his hearing when he was 5, he was able to sound almost normal when he spoke out loud, even though he still couldn't hear anything.

Dean stopped and turned to face his friend before replying, '**I was thinking about the accident. Me and Sam… I just found out an old friend of Sam's started going here.'**

'**You need to get yourself a girlfriend,'** Brady advised after a while. He grinned as he said it but when Dean didn't smile back or make a joke, he added, **'You don't think any girls are interested in you because you can hear?'**

Dean shook his head and after a moment or two, he spoke as he signed. **'I'm paralyzed. I'm never going to be able to walk or… you know.'**

'**Have sex?'** Brady supplied. When Dean nodded, he put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hey, some day some girl is going to surprise you." Dean scoffed but Brady was already thinking as he said, "You'll find someone, Dean. Trust me."

x

At dinner, Dean was surprised when Jess sat down with him instead of joining Sam and Max. "Three's a crowd?" he asked, signing at the same time while glancing over at his brother.

'**Actually… I wanted to talk to you,'** Jess replied with a smile. She blushed a bit and after a while, she said, **'Sam is my best friend. And I know it would be weird for both of you, but… I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime. On a date. With me.'**

Dean was speechless as he let Jess's words sink in. And yeah, it was kind of strange given how close she and Sam were but remembering talking with Brady earlier, Dean asked, "Did Brady put you up to this?"

Jess shook her head in response. She didn't want to admit that she'd had a serious crush on Dean ever since she met. Maybe it was the way he was always looking out for Sam or when he smiled, but there was no way she could deny that she had a monumental crush on Dean Winchester.

* * *

As the clock on his wall neared midnight, Headmaster Jared Collins didn't seem the least bit surprised when a young woman suddenly appeared in front of his desk. "Something I can do for you, Hester?"

The angel just stood, frowning slightly as she looked at her old friend, Balthazar. "Why are you doing all this? Making Sam deaf and crippling him? Paralyzing Dean?"

Balthazar smirked as he leaned back in his office chair. "And just last month, I left clues for John Winchester on where to find Samuel Colt's precious little revolver along with Azazel's recent hiding place. With any luck, that demon will no longer be a problem."

But rather than approving of what was going on, Hester seemed shocked by what her fellow angel had done. "You are throwing everything out of balance!" she exclaimed. "The whole plan—why would you do this?"

"To Hell with the plan," Balthazar snapped, angrily. "What if we forget destiny and let the Winchesters have a happy life for once? What is so wrong with that?"

But Hester didn't seem convinced. She knew her brother and she knew that there was something else going on but she couldn't figure out what exactly. "I hope you know what you're doing," she said, simply, before winging out.

* * *

Author's Notes: Sorry about the shortness of the chapter. Next time around we'll see more interactions with Sam and Dean and their friends and respective girlfriends.


	3. Chapter 3

AUTHOR'S NOTES: So I wanted to give some backstory on Sam and Dean after the accident, especially when they woke up and found out about their injuries.

Also, the restaurant mentioned at the end of this chapter is a real place and 10 minutes from where I live. Louise—who I also mention in regards to Brioni Café and Deli—is also real and, yes, she does have my usual order totally memorized.

Zingerman's is real, too, and they make some of the best sourdough bread I've ever tasted in my life along with vanilla marshmallows that taste like lightly perfumed clouds of Heaven. If you live anywhere near Ann Arbor, visit the Zingerman's locations at least once—it's well worth the trip.

* * *

Chapter 3

The following Saturday, Sam was already awake when he felt the vibrating alarm on his wrist watch go off. Normally he was a sound sleeper but every once in a while, he was woken up earlier when the painkillers he took before bed wore off. Lying in his dorm bed, Sam gritted his teeth at the pain in his leg. The pain was always worst in the morning and until he could get his medications, there was nothing to do but try and ride it out.

Thinking on anything to distract him from the pain, Sam found himself remembering the days after the accident.

* * *

_5 Years Ago_

Waking in the hospital right after the accident, Sam felt so much pain he'd actually wished he'd died. The worst pain had been his leg. The whole thing throbbed, ached, and was a source of never-ending stabbing agony. The first time he'd seen his injured limb, Sam was aghast at the lines of stitches and the amount of metal attached.

Then his dad and the doctor came in to the room. Thankfully, Sam's hearing aids had been undamaged so once he'd put them in—apparently one of the nurses had placed them on the stand next to his bed—Sam was able to hear the doctor as he discussed the damage along with the horrific prognosis.

Dr. Bryson had looked extremely grim as he talked about the severity of the fractures and the preliminary surgery to stabilize the injuries. "Right now we have the fractures to Sam's leg stabilized but we need to talk about how to proceed with treatment."

John looked surprised by that statement as he looked from his son to the doctor. "Well, you're taking him back into surgery, right?"

Bryson's expression was sympathetic as he slowly shook his head. "Mr. Winchester, while surgery is obviously one path of treatment, given the severity of Sam's injuries it would be better if you opted for amputation."

Sam hoped he had just misheard, even though he knew that with the hearing aids he was hearing almost normally. "What?"

John looked equally shocked by the news and he also wanted to make sure he'd heard correctly. "Amputation?" he repeated.

"If you decide to go with reparative surgery," Bryson explained to John, "Sam's going to be looking at months in the hospital in a cast, most likely additional surgeries, years of pain and physical therapy and even then the odds of your son regaining meaningful function of his leg are very, very slim. If we remove the limb above the main damage, there will be enough tissue left that Sam can learn to use a prosthetic and his chances of having a normal life are exponentially increased."

John rubbed his face with one hand as he tried to think. Looking at Sam and the kid's leg, he asked Bryson, "How much surgery are we talking about?"

The doctor shrugged, vaguely. "Full length rod attached to Sam's tibia and lower femur, knee replacement, plates and screws in his ankle… and as he gets older, the hardware will need to be adjusted and replaced. Mr. Winchester… I know you don't want to do this. Removal of a limb is hard for anyone and no parent should be in your position. But the longer we wait, the higher the chances of infection which can be extremely dangerous."

"Dad, I don't want to lose my leg," Sam said, urgently. He could see that his father was considering the amputation option and he didn't want the doctors to cut his leg off. "Please, Dad."

Bryson glanced at Sam as he said, "Son, I'm sorry, but your father's the one who makes the decision."

But John felt himself siding with his youngest son. He hated doing it, especially considering what Sam would be going through. But the kid had never had a say about anything in his entire life and if Sam wanted to deal with the consequences of his choice, then John felt he had to go along with it. "How soon can you get Sammy into surgery to repair the damage?"

When Sam went back into surgery an hour later, John went into Dean's room and for a long time he just looked at the kid. Dean wore a Halo brace which was literally bolted to his head. There were two IVs dripping blood and medications into his arm. Feeling tears fall down his face, John wiped them away quickly as he saw Dean's eyes open. "Hey, there, Ace," John said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. "How're you feeling?"

"Is Sam okay?" Dean asked, not sure why his father looked like he'd been crying. "I'm sorry, Dad. I-I didn't even have time to react. I should have pushed Sammy out of the way, or…" Seeing John's stony yet pained expression, Dean felt his heart sink. "Dad, where's Sam? What happened?" He tried to sit up even though all that did was make him hurt even more than before.

"Sam's in surgery," John explained, not wanting Dean to exert himself. For a while, he didn't say anything else as he tried to think of the best way to describe Sam's condition. "Sam's leg…" Seeing Dean's look of comprehension and fear, John knew his oldest was going to the worst case scenario. "The docs are going to try and fix him up, but it's pretty bad."

Dean felt tears welling up in his eyes and he wiped them away, furiously. He should have pushed Sam out of the way or… or done something instead of just standing there! He tried again to sit up but this time he was stopped by one of the doctors coming into the room.

"Sorry, son. You can't do that." Dr. Nella Ellis was tall and slender, her short brown hair tied back in a haphazard ponytail. She hurried over to Dean and gently put a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, I just want to sit up," Dean protested.

Nella looked hesitant at that. She wanted Dean to stay as flat as possible to help ease the swelling around his spine, but she'd seen kids like Dean before and she knew that getting the kid to stay still would be a world-class challenge—especially if he knew how badly his brother had been hurt. Looking at John, she motioned for him to stand on Dean's other side. "Dean, your father and I are going to help you sit up some. Don't try to move… just let us do the work, okay?"

"Okay," Dean replied, letting himself just relax. His dad and the doctor each put an arm behind him and very, very gingerly, they moved him into a more upright position. But the moment he'd started moving, the pain in his back exploded and he couldn't stop himself from crying out in agony.

Nella quickly adjusted the bed and she and John slowly eased Dean back down against the back of the bed. "Dean? Are you okay?"

It took Dean several minutes to respond and when he looked at the doctor, he said, "How bad?"

The doctor looked at John and then at Dean before she said, "The accident caused severe damage to your spinal cord. We stabilized the fractured vertebrae and they should heal up within a month or two. But the nerve damage was serious and resulted in a complete loss of sensation and motor function from your navel down."

Even with the phrasing, Dean understood what Dr. Ellis was saying and a glance at his dad showed that John understood as well. His mouth went dry and after a while, he finally said, "I'm paralyzed?" The word seemed to echo loudly in his mind and he felt like the whole world had been yanked out from under him. He couldn't move his legs, couldn't feel anything below his waist… He'd be in a wheelchair probably the rest of his life…

But worst of all, Dean thought, he wouldn't be able to protect Sam. The one job he'd had his entire life and a fucking car accident screwed it all up.

* * *

_Present Day_

Dean's 6th sense woke him up almost exactly a minute after Sam's alarm went off. Sitting up, he saw his little brother's pained expression and quickly twisted around to grab the emergency supply of ibuprofen sitting on the night table next to him. It wasn't as good at the prescription meds but those were locked up in the school's infirmary. Moving from his bed to his wheelchair, Dean went to Sam and handed him a pill along with a partial bottle of water left over from the previous night.

Sensing that he needed to get to the bathroom or risk having a serious accident, Dean looked worriedly at his brother before deciding. "I'll be back in just a bit," he promised after Sam had swallowed the painkiller. When Sam nodded in understanding, Dean grabbed his bathroom kit and headed out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom.

After taking care of business, Dean cleaned up and hurried back to his room, feeling slightly relieved when he saw Sam sitting up, legs over the edge of the bed and his right leg stretched out in front of him.

Every time Dean saw Sam's injured leg, he couldn't help staring for a moment. There were numerous scars in various degrees of healing and Sam's ankle never fully extended anymore. And the last time Sam's knee was fully extended, the joint had frozen in that position for nearly a week.

Sam waited until Dean caught his eye and made the sign for 'staring' which, as usual, caused Dean to looked embarrassed.

'**Sorry, Sammy,'**Dean replied, noticing that his brother had yet to put his hearing aids in. **'Let's get you braced up and dressed. It's Saturday so Dad will be meeting us at Brioni at 10am.'**

Since Underwood Academy was a boarding school, Sam and Dean didn't get to see their dad as often as they had before, but neither of them minded too much. Besides, John spent almost every weekend with them and came by the school to visit in the evenings whenever he could.

After they were ready, the brothers headed to the main office to sign out for the weekend before leaving the campus.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Brioni Café and Deli was a local sandwich shop that used top quality lunchmeats and cheeses and imported their breads from a bakery all the way in Michigan—some place in Ann Arbor called Zingerman's. It was warm, friendly, and very rarely empty. The woman who ran the place, Louise, was always happy to see the Winchesters and even knew their usual orders by heart.

But to Sam and Dean's immense surprise, they found that their dad wasn't alone at their usual table in the corner. Not only was Bobby sitting there as well, but so were Jess and Max.

"What are you guys doing here?" Dean asked the girls, signing for Jess's benefit.

'**Your dad invited us,'** Jess replied, smiling. **'He said you guys always eat here on the weekends.'**

"I kinda wanted to get to know the girls you boys wouldn't stop talking about," John explained, signing as he spoke.

Dean looked at Jessica and could help blushing when she smiled at him. He was 17 for cryin' out loud. He was too old to be embarrassed by his dad bringing up his girlfriend. But thinking the word 'girlfriend' Dean found himself looking at Jess with a fresh perspective. He'd never actually had a girlfriend before…

"Hello, boys," Louise said, cheerfully as she came up to the table, looking at Sam, Dean, John, and Bobby. "The usuals?"

The guys nodded and after Jess and Max ordered, Louise headed off to put the orders in and ring everyone up.

Bobby stood and said, "I'll go pay. You guys talk." At the register, he caught the eye of one of the other employees, a tall woman with black hair. Nodding a bit at the table, he said, "Sam and Dean apparently thought they'd be alone on their first dates."

Louise laughed at that as she took the credit card Bobby offered. Running it through, she said, "You and John are doing a great job with those boys. You should be proud of them."

Bobby nodded and after collecting the bottles of soda and bags of chips—Sam always got sour cream and onion while Dean only liked the barbeque—he returned to the table and took his seat again.

"So did you finally ask her out?" John asked, jokingly.

Bobby frowned a bit and only said, "She's married, ya idjit."


End file.
